History shows current Jerusalem crisis not its last
By Daoud Kuttab The recent escalation of tension in East Jerusalem and especially in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque will most certainly confuse many. Why, some ask, would the Israeli government carry on an unprecedented act of closing off the entire mosque area to all but eight Muslim worshipers, only to reopen it the next day […]
Palestinians will wait until January to seek UN recognition
By Daoud Kuttab No official has said it bluntly, but the Palestinian threat to seek recognition of statehood again from the UN Security Council is likely to be postponed until the end of the year. US Secretary of State John Kerry has repeatedly asked for this postponement and without the needed nine votes to force the […]
The Leaderless Political Orphans of Jerusalem Revolt
Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper For years, governing powers in the Middle East have worked hard at decimating the leadership structure of any opposing group. Experts credit the success of various revolts and protests during the past three years to a leaderless revolution that governments were unable to predict or to stop. In […]
Al-Aqsa’s women resist
By Daoud Kuttab While daily protests in East Jerusalem were triggered by the brutal July 2 burning alive of a Palestinian teenager from Shuafat, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the emotional trigger for Palestinians has and continues to be the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Daily attempts byradical Israeli Jews to enter the Muslim holy place and lay Jewish claims to […]
Palestinians mourn celebrated businessman, philanthropist
By Daoud kuttab It would be difficult to find a student at Birzeit University who does not know the name Said Khoury. Since 2009, a 3,611-square-meter (38,868-square-foot) building bearing his name has stood tall on the hills of the new university campus. It houses the Center for Development Studies, the Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute for International Studies […]
Restrictions on Movement of Palestinians Still Major Source of Frustration
By Daoud Kuttab “My homeland is not a suitcase and I am not a traveller,” wrote Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. But for many Palestinians living in the besieged homeland, the right to movement guaranteed in the University Declaration of Human Rights (Article 13) is just ink on paper. I met last week in Beirut a […]
Travel challenges for Gazans fuel frustration
By Daoud Kuttab Meral, a pseudonym, 28, from the Gaza Strip, has traveled the world and returned to her hometown in Gaza. But her account of the trip she took last week and related to Al-Monitor was so traumatic that it might be the last one she attempts to take out of Gaza. A freelance […]
Abbas’ fortunes turn around after Gaza war
By Daoud Kuttab For a moment at the end of the summer, it appeared that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was defeated. The Gaza war, which he was unable to do much about, badly hurt his reputation. The transcripts of the three-way meeting with the emir of Qatar and Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal had made […]
Good news for Palestine
Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper By Daoud Kuttab After the collapse of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, in April, the July war on Gaza, the August drowning of hundreds trying to emigrate to Europe and the September war of words between their two major factions, Palestinians welcomed this week a series of unexpectedly good news. […]
British vote brings Palestinians one step closer to statehood
By Daoud Kuttab After debate ended Oct. 13 in Westminster and the votes were cast, 274 British members of Parliament (MPs), representing major parties as well as diverse communities, passed a motion calling on their government to recognize the state of Palestine. “The vote is symbolic, but the discussion is essential,” Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian […]